I’ve never been inside a Slug and Lettuce prior to this review. If a restaurant is a huge chain and appears to do American or English food, it tends to slip my mind. I was therefore very grateful when they invited me for a small Cocktail Masterclass as well as some food as this gives me an opportunity to try a place that I had not thought of. Thank you to my dearest blogger friend, Lacey of Laceyfitspo, for inviting me to this. There are a number of branches of Slug and Lettuce in Manchester alone, but this review will focus on the Spinningfields branch. *

If you have visited Viet Shack or Fusion Lab in the Arndale Market, Gym Shack is another venture run by the same guys. Gym Shack takes up residence where Simone’s: The Healthy Baker was. Instead of healthy bakes, we now have healthy meals! Here, I will go into the details of what you can get there.

Grand Pacific opened up on the site of the old Reform Club on King Street in Manchester. The menu alluded to East Asian cuisine with a Western twist. I went to the launch party, taking my friend with me for the evening.*

I don’t often pop into town around lunch time as I don’t work in the city centre, but I really like the Arndale market’s mix of varied food stalls. When Sue Gregson, Assistant Market Manager, emailed me inviting me to the relaunch and to meet the traders, I jumped at the opportunity! I really like getting to know the people behind the food so this was perfectly me!

I came across Banyan Bar when I was trying to find somewhere near the Manchester Arena for food, as I was going to see something there. I knew that the Corn Exchange had been refurbished and lots of restaurants have moved in. Owing to the warm weather in Manchester at the time, I decided that somewhere that served salads would be a good option, and settled on Banyan.

The Bill’s Backyard Party was a Yelp event and was supposed to take place in the outside area, but unfortunately, the sun had disappeared by the time evening approached. Fret not! Bill’s had a plan and we were shown to one side of the restaurant next to the backyard part. At least it was still bright and pleasant!*